1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a cooking appliance including an oven cavity which can be used to grill food items. Specifically, the oven of the invention has a removable grilling unit which directs any grease or the like that drips off of the food items to a specialized heating element for vaporization or, optionally, into a jar for later removal. Additionally, the oven of the invention has been modified to utilize a downdraft system to rid the oven cavity of byproducts generated during grilling.
2. Discussion of the Prior Art
Modern home ovens are often equipped with two heating elements and a series of rack supports at varying levels. The first heating element, located at the bottom of the oven cavity, is traditionally used as a baking element. Baking is accomplished by heating an oven cavity and allowing the heated air to envelop the food being cooked. Because baking can optionally utilize convection heating, fans are sometimes provided to circulate the air inside the oven cavity. The second element in a home oven is the broiling element. Broiling is accomplished through radiant heating by energizing a heating element in close proximity to and above the food item. Because the broil heating element is located at the top of the oven cavity, broiling often requires that the food supporting rack be repositioned so that the food items can be close to the upper heating element.
Grilling, while somewhat similar to broiling, is generally not provided for in traditional ovens. Grilling is essentially accomplished by placing a heating element in close proximity to and below the food item, such that the desired cooking operation is performed primarily utilizing radiation. Home ovens are simply not designed with rack supports at the bottom of the oven cavity, i.e. close to the baking element to allow for grilling. However, at least U.S. Pat. No. 3,358,120 is directed to and describes an oven insert which is designed to convert a home oven to a grilling unit. Specifically, a removable heating element and bottomless shell are included. The shell supports an additional rack onto which a food item to be grilled is placed. The side walls of the shell also protect the inside of the oven from the liquid byproducts, such as fats, oil, and grease, generated during the grilling operation. When liquid byproducts are developed, they will usually drip downward toward the heating element. If the byproducts land on the heating element, the high temperature of the heating element prevents the byproduct from sticking. All of the byproduct then drips downward through the shell. A drip pan is positioned on a lower rack to catch the falling fats, oil, grease etc. But the shell only protects the inside of the oven from the portion of the liquid byproducts which travel downward directly into the drip pan. Of course, the consumer must eventually clean the byproduct collected in the pan.
Another major problem with grilling in an oven cavity is the fact that a considerable amount of gaseous byproducts, such as smoke, can be developed. Placing the heating element so close to the bottom of the food item will generate a significant amount of smoke and, if attempted in a traditional oven, would fill the oven and eventually the kitchen with smoke. Although convectional ovens generally include air circulation systems, they are not designed to effectively accommodate grilling.
Based on the above, there exists a need in the art of cooking for a system which will not only enable an oven to be effectively used for grilling of food items but which addresses the elimination of byproducts inherently generated during a grilling operation.
The present invention is directed to a household cooking appliance which has an oven cavity adapted for grilling. The potential problems associated with byproduct generation are addressed by including either a separate burner for combusting the fats, oil, grease, etc. and/or a removeable jar for catching any liquid byproducts. The problems associated with smoke are eliminated by incorporating a downdraft exhaust system, similar to that commonly used in connection with stove-top cooking, in the oven cavity.
Specifically, a grilling platform is provided which includes four main parts. The first is a grilling rack onto which the food item to be grilled is placed. An auxiliary heating or grilling element is included which has been specially designed to fit into a receptacle in the oven wall for easy installation and removal. A basin surrounds the bottom and sides of the grilling element, as the grilling rack sits upon an upper ledge portion of the basin. The shape of the basin is such that the rack is in close proximity to the grilling element and hence, the food item(s), when properly installed.
The grilling platform additionally includes a grease jar which collects liquid byproducts develops during grilling. The bottom surface of the basin is sloped to funnel any collected fats, oil, grease or the like to one side of the basin. The grease jar is arranged at a low portion of the basin to catch the fats, oil, and grease from the basin itself. The grease jar extends below the basin to hold the byproducts until the jar is removed and either cleaned or replaced. The grilling platform is also provided with special rack structure which mates with a rack support in the oven cavity to hold the grilling platform, including the grilling element, in place.
In another embodiment, the grease jar is replaced with a spout formed in the lower surface of the basin. As the liquid byproducts drip off the food into the basin, they are directed toward the spout. Positioned directly below the spout is an additional heating element which is used to combust these liquid byproducts. Generally, when the byproducts are heated to an elevated temperature, smoke is produced. Because the liquid byproducts are immediately combusted, the production of gaseous byproducts, i.e. smoke and other airborne byproducts, is minimized.
However, the oven of the invention also includes a gaseous byproduct elimination system which is designed to handle the smoke and the like generated during grilling. More specifically, an exhaust plenum is provided, preferably near the bottom of the oven cavity. A fan is located outside the oven cavity and, when activated, draws air from inside the oven, through the plenum and out of the oven. With this overall arrangement, the oven cavity can be effectively used for grilling purposes.
Additional objects, features and advantages of the invention will become more readily apparent from the following detailed description of preferred embodiments thereof when taken in conjunction with the drawings wherein like reference numerals refer to corresponding parts in the several views.